Emphasis added...probably a LOT more to it than SWAPA want's to let on...
Republic Airways Holdings Wins Bid for Frontier in Bankruptcy Court Auction
In a surprise decision, the Frontier creditors decided to select Republic as the winning bidder in the bankruptcy auction process. The main reason seems to be that Southwest refused to remove from its bid a requirement that the pilot unions (SWAPA for Southwest and FAPA for Frontier) must agree on a method to integrate the seniority lists of the two groups for the purchase to go forward. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association wanted to put Frontier pilots at the bottom of its seniority list, while Frontier pilots wanted to be dovetailed into the pecking order. They could not reach agreement by Wednesday night and Southwest did not seek an extension of time to bid from the bankruptcy court.
Also Republic improved its initial $108.75 million offer, removing pre-closing conditions and agreeing to waive distributions on a $150 million claim, which is expected to result in a 94 percent increase in the distribution to Frontier's general unsecured creditors.
Finally, Republic had received approval to purchase Frontier from the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department—something which Southwest had yet to obtain. Southwest Airlines, said its refusal to remove the labor condition from its proposal was key in the decision by Frontier's creditors that Southwest's $170 million bid was unacceptable.
Republic has said it intends to operate Frontier as a wholly owned subsidiary.